The garbage mystery

What is it about garbage? Why do we assign the males in the household the job of taking it out when they obviously can't see it? My youngest will walk in and immediately shout "Something smells!"

But when I ask him to take the garbage out he looks at me in absolute disbelief, as if I've just asked him to walk across burning coals, lie on a bed of nails, sacrifice to pagan gods!

I thought it was just me, and my house, but when I talked to other mothers and wives they said the same thing. Until the garbage actually smells, the men don't notice it, and even then it's a 50/50 chance, and involves guilt inducing looks at the females as if we somehow made it smell on purpose!

I have tested my theory that males don't see garbage by throwing it on the kitchen floor, and watched the males step over it on the way to the refrigerator or out the door. I do have to admit that if the dog gets into the garbage they notice, but only as long as the dog is actively gnawing and tearing the trash. Then they accusingly growl (mostly louder than the dog) "Hey, the dumb dog is in the garbage!" Then they'll huffily pick up most of it and either put it right back in dog's reach, or even more huffily take it out. They get disappointed by the lack of a ticker tape parade, but there's been budget cuts and environmental concerns and these things can't be helped.

I'm wondering now if the dog is actually helping me out here by drawing their attention to the garbage. Hmmm.

There's a very great irony at work here, I just don't understand quite what it is.